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Democratic hopeful for the U.S. Senate U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., addresses a crowd at a rally to save six-day mail delivery on the Boston Common, in Boston, Sunday, March 24, 2013. Lynch is vying for his party's nomination in the special April 30, 2013 primary in a run for the seat held by the senior senator from Massachusetts John Kerry, who became Secretary of State. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON (AP) — Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Stephen Lynch is crying foul over a banner that was being flown over downtown Boston hours before a hockey match-up between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.

The banner which was trailed behind an airplane Wednesday said "Steve Lynch says: Go Habs! And Go Canadian Dirty Oil."

The "Habs" is the nickname for the Canadiens.

The banner was the work of environmental activists backed by California billionaire Thomas Steyer, who has called on Lynch to renounce his support for the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would run from western Canada to Texas.

Lynch said the banner questions his loyalty to the Bruins.

Lynch's campaign said he's not only a longtime Bruins fan, but sponsored legislation creating the Boston Bruins license plates that help raise money for youth hockey in Massachusetts.

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, Lynch's competition in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts, has previously called on Steyer to back off the contest altogether, following a threat from the activist to take aim at Lynch for his support of the pipeline.

The Republican candidates, Gabriel Gomez, Michael Sullivan and Daniel Winslow; will square off on Thursday in downtown Springfield for the Western Massachusetts Media Consortium's first primary debate, which will take place between 7-8 p.m. and air live on local broadcast stations and MassLive.com.

The primaries are scheduled for April 30. The special Senate election is June 25.